ABOUT WYTHALL

Wythall is situated in the north east corner
of Worcestershire, within the District of Bromsgrove and the County of Worcestershire. The village shares borders with Solihull and Birmingham and has a population of over 12,000 spread amongst
several areas which includes Majors Green and parts of Walkers Heath. The purpose of this website is to provide useful information for residents and visitors.

HISTORY OF WYTHALL

The
first recorded settlement in Wythall was at Berrymound, north west of
Majors Green. In 1911 two thirds of the ancient parish of Kings Norton was
transferrred to Birmingham and only Wythall remained in Worcestershire.

Wythall is derived from the name Wythworth, worth means enclosure where
Withies or Oziers are grown or prepared. The names Grimpits Farm and Grimes Hill
derive from Grim who was the Anglo Saxon god of war and dates back to when the
Angles and the Saxons were pentrating central England. The name Drakes Cross is
derived from the word Drakness meaning dragon. Headley Heath was originally
called Heathleage on the old tythe maps. Inkford was an area which was a
medieval village and is also a bronze ring site.

Chapel
Lane and Station Rd appear on the oldest existing road map dated 1330
and these roads were used on the route from Droitwich to Coventry. Silver Street
is an old salt track from Houndsfield to Droitwich, this route was used for
carrying timber to the salt works.

What
is now the Phoenix Group complex was previously RAF Wythall (from 1938-1960) which was a ballon barrage centre that defended Southern Birmingham and Coventry during the second world
war. After the war it became a demob centre for all WAAF`s nationally.

In
medieval times there was a windmill on a mound at the site where
Becketts Farm is now. This was part of the ancient village of Wythall and formed
part of the Manor owned by the Bell family which also included the site of St
Marys church which was then the Manor Church.

(From the book Wythall and St Mary`s Church,by CF Sharpe, June 1972,
avaliable from Wythall Library and additional information supplied by the late Mr Roy
Pearson, Tree Warden )